The Formal
by irishgirlkath
Summary: Georgetown Fic in which Alicia attends Will's formal, and deals with his old flame
1. Chapter 1

I know I said I didn't care about reviews, or feedback. I lied! Please review.

"Alicia, come back here. Listen to me. It didn't mean anything."

Alicia ran towards her car, refusing to turn and look at Peter. "You are such an asshole! Just get away from me."

"We came together in one car. How the hell I am supposed to get home?"

She was already unlocking the car door, and climbing into the driver's seat. "I really don't care, Peter. Ask your new girlfriend."

The next morning when she came downstairs for breakfast, her mother said Peter had already called four times. She didn't tell her mother, or her brother what had happened at the wedding reception, How she'd gone to the bathroom, and discovered Peter in a dark corridor with one of the bridesmaids.

When she went back to school after winter break, she didn't tell Will that she had more or less broken up with Peter. She simply scrawled a note on the memo board they had on the fridge. "I Hate Him. It's Over. Again."

She tried not to think about him. She concentrated on school instead. Peter had been trying to convince her to transfer to Northwestern, or U of C for her second year. She knew why. He wanted her as far from Will Gardner as possible.

One day in February she came home between classes and found Will in front of the TV watching as Desert Storm unfolded. For the past three weeks, students had been huddled around TV sets in dorm rooms, off campus apartments and bars watching the war on CNN like it was a game of Nintendo.

"My mother actually called last night and begged me to come home. According to her, Washington is sure to be the target of some terrorist attack. I've never heard her so emotional about anything," Alicia said.

"I guess if we're going to die, we to have sex soon then," Will said

She playfully slapped him on the back of the head. "You really are impossible. I'm getting a beer. I'm assuming you want one?"

She went to the kitchen, got two beers, and slid on the couch beside him.

"I want to ask you something. I got an invitation to my fraternity's alumni formal. It's in April, but they already sent out invites. I'd like you to go with me, Alicia."

Ever since she'd broken up with Peter, Will had hinted that he wanted a more "serious" relationship with her. Alicia had tried to tell him she wasn't ready yet. She needed time to reassess things.

"Why would I want to go to a fraternity formal? I went to my high school prom six years ago," she said.

"Trust me; this is nothing like a high school prom. Do the words "open bar" mean anything to you?"

"Will, I don't know. Surely, there are other women you can ask. Every girl on this campus would be dying to go with you," Alicia said.

"I don't want to go with anyone else. I want to go with you. Come on, Alicia. We'll have fun. It's held at this beautiful golf club down in Virginia. We'll make a weekend of it."

"Okay, fine. But we're getting separate rooms. Or at least, separate beds," she told him.

She went home for spring break two weeks before Will's formal, still refusing to talk to Peter. One Saturday afternoon, she went to Marshall Field's downtown store to look for a dress. Owen ended up tagging along with her.

Alicia was not fashion-conscience back then. Her wardrobe tended toward oversized sweatshirts, and baggy jeans. Her brother could not help reminding her of this.

"Girl, I know you have boobs somewhere underneath those bulky sweaters you wear.'

She ignored him as she looked through another rack of dresses, all deemed unsuitable. "Peter liked the way I look. So does Will."

"Peter sees you as a diamond in the rough. Someone he can mold into the consummate political spouse. As for Will, I do not know him, but it sounds like he adores you. You could be dressed in a plastic bag, and he'd still worship you."

She pulled a blue satin dress from the rack. It was short, sleeveless, and had a V-neck.

"Is this too sexy?" she asked Owen.

"No. That is perfect. By the way, I sort of "borrowed" Mom's Amex card. Let's find you some hot shoes to go with that dress."

She looked at her younger brother, horrified. "Owen! Please tell me you're joking!"

"Don't worry. She approves of this mission." He proceeded to speak in an imitation of his mother's voice. "Alicia, you are such a beautiful girl. Why do you hide your light?"

"Mom won't be happy until. I drop out of law school, marry Peter, get pregnant right away, and spend the next twenty years raising kids.'

"So what exactly happened between you and Peter anyway?" Owen asked.

She hadn't told Owen, her mother, or Will. "We went to that wedding. His college buddy. During the ceremony, he whispered in my ear, 'that's going to be us some day". I was so touched, It was such a sweet thing to say. Then at the reception, I caught him in the hallway…how do I put this? Getting serviced by a bridesmaid."

"I'm not surprised. You dumped him. It was the right thing to do. Now, try on that dress. Will Gardner is not going to know what hit him."

On the Friday before the formal, Will and Alicia went to Washington Union station to catch the train to Fredericksburg. Will's former roommate and fraternity brother Tim Fitzgerald met them in the All American Bar.

Alicia liked Tim right away; He bought round after round of drinks for the three of them, as well as half the other patrons in the bar. He upgraded Will and Alicia's tickets to Business Class so that they could all sit together on the train. He obviously had money to spare, but didn't appear to be snobbish about that.

"Alison is driving down and meeting us there." he said once they were seated on the train.

"So you and the ice queen huh?" Will said.

"Give her a break, Will. You don't know her like I do," Tim said.

"Who is Alison?" Alicia asked.

Alison was apparently Tim's girlfriend, but it sounded like she'd been involved with everyone in the frat house at one time or another.

Tim took three glasses, and a bottle of champagne from his carry-on bag, pouring a glass for each of them.

"Cheers! I am so happy to finally meet the stunning Alicia! Will has talked about you endlessly!"

When Alicia got up to use the restroom, Tim asked Will about their "relationship".

"You mean to tell me you two are living together, and you aren't f****ing her? What is the matter with you, Gardener?"

"She just broke up with her boyfriend back home," Will said.

He didn't want to go into the details with his friend. All about how he was giving her 'space", and how and how he respected her too much to pursue something so soon after Peter. Will Gardner respecting a woman? That wasn't something his fraternity brothers were familiar with.

"You could be having hot rebound sex night after night, Will. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

"This place is gorgeous How can you afford it?" Alicia asked as they checked into the elegant Colonial Bed and Breakfast.

"Senator Fitzgerald got rooms for all of us," Will said.

Alicia finally put two and two together. "Tim Fitzgerald is Thomas Fitzgerald' son? The Maryland Senator?"

"The one and only. Oh, God. Alison is here."

The two of them walked outside and watched as she exited her red Mercedes convertible, Alicia's first thought was that Will's description was correct. "Ice Queen" was a perfect moniker.

To Be Continued….


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sorry for the delay, Thanks for the wonderful reviews!

Alison jumped out of the car, wrapping her arms around Will.

"Will! I am so glad to see you. We have to catch up a soon as possible. I'm in New York. Trying to break into fashion design. "

"Do you need help with your bags, Alison?" Will asked her in a disinterested tone.

"Thank you so, much. You are such a darling."

She spoke in a breathy little girl voice like she was channeling Jackie Kennedy. Alicia was trying not to be judgmental. But Alison was already giving her lethal looks.

Will helped carry her six piece Luis Viton set upstairs to her room. They agreed to meet Alison and Tim for dinner later.

Later when they were in the bar/restaurant near the hotel waiting for Alison and Tim, she asked him how he'd become involved with the son of a United States Senator.

"You mean because these people have money, and I don't? You met Tim. When you are Tim's friend, you are his friend for life. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, rich, poor, Jewish, Christian, gay, straight, or a one-eyed purple midget. That's just the way Tim is."

Years later, when Will got his first job in Baltimore, Alicia knew it was because Tim's father had put in a good word for him. It made her realize Will wasn't all that different from Peter in some ways. But then Peter had come from privilege while Will came from nothing. Perhaps Will couldn't be blamed.

"I can understand why you guys nicknamed Alison "Princess Di," Cool, blonde and unattainable."

Will laughed. "I wouldn't say unattainable. She was "attainable" to every guy in the frat house."

Tim, Alison, and six of their fraternity brothers, along with their dates, interrupted them. Will introduced her, and they got a large table in the back.

Alicia liked Will's friends. They appeared to be goofy and immature, but like Will, they were also all very smart. All of them were in law school, med school, or pursuing some type of post-graduate degree.

Their girlfriends were a different story.

She ended up sitting across from a Alison, and another girl who was her blonde clone. They spent the entire time rolling their eyes, and looking bored. They reminded Alicia of the girls who had shunned her in high school only because she was quiet, studious, and didn't like jumping up and down and screaming because someone had scored a touchdown.

Alison picked at a salad as if every individual piece of lettuce would put a pound on her minuscule frame. Alicia was actually enjoying her prime rib, and made no bones about that. She was on a budget at school, and hadn't eaten this well in a long time.

"You know Will and I dated for a while. We were practically engaged," Alison told her

"Really? Will and I have become good friends, and I don't remember him mentioning being "practically engaged" to anyone."

Alison gave her the death stare.

Alicia went into town with "the girls" the next day, making a last-ditch effort to befriend them. They were all cool towards her, and she ended up hanging around with Tim's eleven-year-old sister, Charlotte, who was an adorable child. Alicia and Charlotte ended up eating ice cream sundaes together while the others were shopping.

"So it must be exciting being the daughter of a US Senator huh?" Alicia asked.

"I guess so. Sometimes it's fun, because you get to meet famous people. I met John Travolta once. And you never have to wait in line for stuff. Like, we went to Disney World once, and my dad's security detail got us right to the front of the line. But people always try to take your picture, even when you don't want them too! So are you and Will dating?"

Alicia loved kids There was no filter. They said whatever was on their mind.

Alicia laughed. "No. We're just really good friends. Best friends. I have a boyfriend back home in Chicago. We're on a break right now."

"I love Will. I want to marry Will. 'Cept by the time I'm old enough he'll probably be married already! I think you and Will would be really cute together!"

She went on, stating that Alison was probably going to be her sister-in-law, and she wasn't sure she liked that. Alison could be nice sometimes, and helped her with clothes, and taught her how to apply makeup. But sometimes she was mean, and said Charlotte was too fat, and no boy would ever like her.

"Charlotte, you are a beautiful girl, and you are anything but fat. And even if you were, it was cruel of Alison to say something like that."

"Can you do me a favor? Can you help me find a dress for the formal tonight? My mom picked one out for me, but it's purple, and frilly, and makes me look like a grape. I saw the most gorgeous peach dress in a shop down the street…."

"I don't know, Charlotte. Your mom went to the trouble to pick out a dress for you, even if it wasn't particularly flattering. I wouldn't want her to be upset."

"I'll handle her," Charlotte said, morphing into a small adult.

"So I spent the day with Charlotte," Alicia shouted to Will, She was in the hotel bathroom putting the finishing touches on her makeup.

Will was already dressed in the hated tuxedo, looking quite dashing. :She's a terrific kid." he said.

"She has a huge crush on you," Alicia told him.

"What can I say? They all do. It comes with being as charming and good-looking as I am."

The moment she stepped out of the bathroom, she took his breath away. Owen had been right. The blue dress was perfect for her. Her hair hung curly and loose around her shoulders. She wore a minimal amount of makeup, and just a small slash of red across her lips.

"Wow! Wow! This is the same girl who pulls on jeans and tennis shoes, pulls her hair back, and dashes off to class? Wow!"

"That's all you can say? Does the dress show too much cleavage?"

Will burst out laughing. "You're asking me that?"

He wanted to tell her beautiful she was. How much he wanted to unzip that dress, and take her on the bed right now. But he didn't. He simply took her arm, and led her out the door.

They were seated at dinner with Senator Fitzgerald and his wife, Tim, Alison, and Charlotte. Charlotte wore the peach dress, and kept looking at Will. Will couldn't take his eyes off Alicia.

The discussion had quickly turned to politics, of course. The Fitzgerald family was famously liberal.

"Honestly, I don't think we Dems have much of a chance next year. Bush is riding high after winning the war," Tim said, emphasizing the last with air quotes.

Alicia was reluctant to contribute, but didn't want to sit there with a blank stare on her face like Alison. "Bush didn't complete the mission. Saddam Hussein is still in power. And if the economy tanks, he's in real trouble."

'I'm hearing rumblings about this Clinton from Arkansas," Tim said.

"An obscure governor from a southern state? And I've heard rumors about his womanizing for years," Senator Fitzgerald said

"Jimmy Carter was a governor from a small southern state. And from

what I've heard about Bill Clinton, and his wife, they're both brilliant political strategists," Alicia offered.

Will was so proud of her. She was capable of holding her own with these important people.

"Charlotte, I am dying to hit the dessert bar. Would you care to split some chocolate mousse cake with me?" Alicia asked.

Charlotte eagerly answered "yes", eliciting a snide comment from Alison.

"Have fun, girls, I would never touch that stuff. You know what they say. A moment on the lips. A lifetime on the hips."

"That's clever, Alison. Did you come up with that one all by yourself?" Tim asked her.

"You are such an ass, Tim. I really need a f-kng drink."

"Miss Cavanaugh. You are a very impressive young woman. I'd like you to call my Washington office of Monday. There may be a summer position for you," Senator Fitzgerald said to her after Alison had stomped off.

Alicia didn't normally get overly excited about anything. But in this case, it was hard to hide her elation. "I will. Thank you so much, Senator,"

"Will took her hand, and let her to the dance. "Let's dance."

Meanwhile, Alison was talking to the bartender placing a twenty in his tip jar. "You see that uptight bitch with the dark hair over there. Make sure she gets as drunk as possible. I'll make it worth your while in other ways, too."

To be continued…


End file.
